Two Tortured Souls
by Foonator
Summary: Sometimes the only one who can pull you out of your darkness is one who has felt your pain.  Two kindred spirits will battle the worlds storms together.  femSasuke.  Strong/Smart/Slightly Dark Naruto.  Naru/femSasu.
1. Chapter 1

**AN: Heyyo! Foonator rolling out his first fic here! I'm kinda pumped here as this is the first time I've ever written something of my own volition and then show it off to the world.**

**Anyway, this fic is mainly gonna revolve around Naruto and my female Sasuke's lives. If you couldn't tell, the pairing is Naruto/femSasuke (why would I change Sasuke's gender if this wasn't going to be the case). A few other things that will be different than canon include: more importance being placed on the memory feedback of the Kage Bunshin, Naruto isn't going to be a disgrace to the shinobi race, and the sun isn't always going to shine out of his ass (i.e. he's not going to be happy and boisterous all the freaking time). I don't plan on overpowering Naruto in the beginning, but as the story progress there are going to be fewer and fewer people who will be able to match him.**

**Please, please, please review. I'm new at this kind of thing; if you have any questions, comments, or concerns, let me know. You can be blunt in your opinions (I honestly prefer it that way) but no flaming. I like to think people can express their opinions without resorting to personal attacks.**

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**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. A guy by the name of Kishimoto does. **

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As the sun rose to shine upon the Konohagakure, one Uzumaki Naruto laid in his bed. The 12 year old boy had blonde hair and what appeared to be three whisker marks on each side of his face. As rays of light began to fall upon the boy's face, he began to stir from his slumber. Eyes of the deepest blue snapping open, Naruto groaned as he prepared to face the challenges that the new day would bring him

'_Today's the day,'_ he thought. _'Today, I take the first big step to becoming the world's strongest ninja and the greatest Hokage. When I blow this exam out of the water, people will finally see that the strength Uzumaki Naruto is not to be trifled with. Then, everyone will respect me '_

With dreams of grandeur in his mind, Naruto rolled out of bed and began to go through a series of stretches and light exercises. After he passed the graduation exam, Naruto made a mental note to thank the crazy lady who smelled like snakes if he ever saw her again. Had he not bumped into her that one time he was in the Forrest of Death, attempting to evade the wrath of yet another mob, he might never have gotten any sort of tips at training at all. And to think that all it cost him was a few sticks of dango.

Okay… so maybe it was more than a few sticks. Snake Lady had put a sizable dent in his wallet dango was to that woman what ramen was Naruto: something to be devoured in extremely large quantities. Still, she gave him all sorts of helpful little tips about being a shinobi; and for that, he would be eternally grateful. She gave him guidance in how to develop a training regimen fit for an aspiring genin, and Naruto had come along quite nicely since he had met her about one year ago. He had become much more physically fit than other kids his age, he was proficient in the basic taijutsu style, his abysmal chakra control had improved, and he had mastered two of three jutsus necessary to pass the exam.

His training usually consisted of stretching to warm up and cool down, going through some of the academy taijutsu katas, some cardio, various exercises (push ups, sit ups, pull ups etc.),meditating, and a chakra control exercise involving sticking leaves to various parts of his body and spinning them on his palms and fingertips. He worked out fairly hard, as he had always had an unreal healing factor (the boy had never been sick a day in his life). One thing that got put into practice a lot was his endurance and stealth, both involved in his evasion of mobs that formed in response to his pranks or for whatever reason the villagers hated him. He was particularly proud of his ability to elude ANBU in his bright orange jumpsuit. It usually wasn't _too_ bad, and he really only had to fear for his life around his birthday during the festival that celebrated the Fourth's victory over the Fox.

'_If it weren't for the fact that I had such a ridiculous amount of chakra, I would be able to do this stupid clone jutsu! And the worst part is that Iruka-sensei probably won't accept this as an acceptable reason as to why I can't do it. No matter how hard I try, the Bunshin seems to be out of my reach. But I can't let this stop me! What kind of ninja quits over the fact that he can't do one simple jutsu?'_

Naruto never showed off what he knew in front of the other students and instructors, with the exception of Iruka of course, for fear that certain instructors would attempt to hinder him more than they already had. Despite his outward appearance and usual upbeat manner, the boy wasn't an idiot. He noticed how he always got the bad textbooks, and that was when he got a textbook at all. Teachers would sometimes just send him out of class on trumped up charges of being a disturbance to the other students. Often, he was deliberately given incorrect information or instructions. All this stuff, and more, didn't just happen without a reason. Though Naruto could not for the life of him figure out why, many villagers simply had it out for him, while the rest were content to ignore his existence.

Finished with his morning warm up, Naruto opened his cupboard to retrieve a cup of ramen. As he prepared his breakfast, the boy couldn't help but ponder why he only ever was able to buy ramen at a normal price. Were it not Ichiraku's Ramen, he wondered if he would be able to buy any food at all. No matter where he went, he was either kicked out of stores or charged ridiculous prices for third rate goods. No matter where walked, he was either treated like he didn't exist or he was given those awful stares.

Those stares… those stares filled with such hate.

'_Why do people call me "demon" and "monster"? It can't be just because I was born on the day of the attack? I know there were other kids born in the same day as me, and they don't get treated like I do. If it's because of my whisker marks then people would also hate the Inuzukas because of their animal traits. Why torture me then? Everyone knows the Fourth Hokage killed the Kyuubi.'_

'…_Right?'_

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Entering the classroom, now dressed in an orange jumpsuit so bright it hurt to look directly at it, Naruto searched for an empty seat, preferably one by a window. A brief glance showed that the only unoccupied seat was right next to Uchiha Sasuke, the Emo Queen herself. Sasuke wore a dark blue shirt with the Uchiha fan on the back and had white armbands on her forearms. She also wore a short, black skirt, two weapons pouches on either hip, white leggings around her shins, and normal shinobi sandals. Her raven colored hair merely came straight down to base of the neck, and her bangs were parted to either side of her face. The girl was the last of her clan if you didn't count her brother Itachi, and she had been ever since the man had murdered their entire clan a few years back.

'_Great,'_ Naruto groused, _'now I have to sit next to the girl with the emotional range of toothpick. She even took the window seat.'_

Sometimes Sasuke was simply insufferable. While she didn't go around arrogantly flaunting the fact that she was an "Uchiha elite" (as he had heard some of the overawed civilians call her) 24/7, the girl had a rather sizable ego due the fact that the very ground she walked upon was worshipped by some. If it were not for the little barbs that Naruto and Sasuke traded back and forth, the girl's silence that would have rivaled Shino Aburame's. Sasuke seemed to have a pole lodged so far up her ass that he doubted that the only thing that would remove would be a thorough ass kicking. Naruto had no doubt that it was only a matter of time before she fought someone who was simply better than her, and the boy could only hope he'd be there to see it.

Taking his seat next to the girl, Naruto tried to at least be a nice a guy and offered up a, "Good morning, Sasuke."

"Hn," she replied.

"I find myself, once more, awestruck by your exceptional conversational skills." His voice was simply dripping in sarcasm.

That actually got the hint of an amused smirk out of the stoic Uchiha, before she quickly recomposed herself. There were times when the girl's aloofness would falter as she expressed some form emotion.

Smilingly lightly at what he considered a little victory over the class's top student, Naruto turned his attention to the pinkette behind him, the object of his affections - Haruno Sakura.

"Hey, Sakura-chan, how bout we go on a date after school, eh?" Naruto asked while scratching the back of his head with a huge grin plastered on his face.

"SHUT UP, BAKA! HOW MANY TIMES DO I HAVE TO SAY NO FOR YOU TO GET THE MESSAGE[!" screamed the girl with an abnormally large forehead as she slung her fist towards the boy. The fist impacted against Naruto's face, knocking him out of his chair, and sending him sprawling on the floor. With a groan, he picked himself off the floor and sat back down in the chair.

"Rejected," said Sasuke with a smirk.

"That's not what your mom said last night," replied Naruto coolly. But he immediately regretted his rather poor choice of words upon seeing pain flit across her face, almost to quick to catch, before her expression become harsher and her eyes hardened. She turned away to stare out the window. _'Real smooth there, Naruto. Way to crack a joke about the girl's mom when she was basically murdered right before Sasuke's eyes.'_

"Look, Sasuke, I-" Naruto began.

"Just shut up," interrupted Sasuke.

"I'm sorry," said Naruto quietly.

He got no response.

He remembered that there wasn't always a time when Sasuke was so distant and condescending. In the months following the Uchiha massacre, Naruto would often find the girl sitting on the pier gazing across the lake. He would sometimes stop there and lean against a tree not far from where she was, close enough for Sasuke to be aware of his presence, but not to the point where he would be an intrusion. They would often sit that way for hours, just enjoying the peace and the semi-company of another who knew such great pain. One had never had anything at all, the other had it all taken away.

The class's chunin sensei, Umino Iruka, chose that moment to walk in. "Okay, class, settle down. As I'm sure you are all know, today you will all take the graduation exam to determine if you are to become genin for Konoha. Before we begin however, I want to let you all know that, pass or fail, I'm proud of you either way." Iruka briefly made eye contact with Naruto as the ghost of a smile passed over his lips. Naruto grinned broadly in return.

'_I don't know what I would do if I had never met Iruka-sensei. He has been one of the few people that have ever been truly kind to me. He takes me out for ramen on occasion, helps me with schoolwork if I ask, and he even gives me a few ideas for pranks on the sly. If I had a family, he's definitely what I would want my older brother to be like.' _Sighing at that last thought, Naruto refocused on Iruka as he called out the name of the first examinee. The process continued to repeat itself, with some kids walking back to their seats proudly displaying their new headband, while the rest returned with looks of disappointment and sadness.

"Uchiha Sasuke."

Choosing this as a good moment to defuse some of the awkwardness and bad feelings between the two, Naruto spoke up and said, "I'd wish you luck, but we both know you don't need it."

Sasuke looked at him for a few seconds before replying the usual "Hn."

"Pleasure as always," the boy quipped.

Watching the raven haired Uchiha quietly get up and leave, Naruto was beginning to sweat a little.

'_I still don't have the Bunshin down! I cannot pass without it and Iruka already told me it would be unfair if he made a special exception just for me. I guess I'll just have to do my absolute best and pray for a miracle.'_

"Uzumaki Naruto."

Slowly getting up, Naruto began walking towards the front for his test. Passing Sasuke, with her new headband, on the way, he was surprised when she said, "I'd wish you luck, but we both know it won't be enough."

"Hn," Naruto replied with a straight face.

Sasuke smirked as she sat back down whilst Naruto arrived at Iruka's desk. The chunnin briefly put a hand on his shoulder and whispered a quick "Good luck."

Smiling in acknowledgement, Naruto performed both the Kawarmi and the Henge when he was directed to. Then came the moment of truth.

"Excellent work, now please form a Bunshin." _'Come on, Naruto, you can do this,'_ thought Iruka.

'_I think I'm screwed here. Oh well, here goes nothing._' Breathing in deeply, Naruto focused everything he had into performing the jutsu correctly. But instead of an identical clone, what came out was a pale and sickly looking version of the blonde haired youth.

"Damn it," muttered Naruto.

"I-I'm sorry," said Iruka "but I'm afraid that you have failed this exam." How it pained the young man to say those words. Lowering his voice level so only Naruto could here, Iruka whispered, "Don't worry about it too much, I know it's not your fault. While _I_ cannot make an exception for you,I'll talk to the Hokage and see if something can't be done about this. At the very least, there's always next year."

Looking into Iruka's warm eyes, Naruto smiled a weak, but genuine, smile and said, "Thank you, Iruka-san," before returning to his seat.

'_I really don't know what I would do without that guy,'_ the Uzumaki thought fondly

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Naruto smiled to himself as he made his way through the forest with a large scroll strapped to his back. _'I knew Iruka-san would pull through for me! I can't believe that he managed to work out this extra credit test with me and Mizuki. Now that I have taken this scroll form the Hokage Tower, all I've got to do is and learn a single jutsu from it. Now let's see here… Kage Bunshin no Jutsu. It's a B-rank, huh? The scroll also says it takes a ton of chakra to perform AND it's a kinjutsu! They might as well have put "Tailor made for Uzumaki Naruto" next to it. This little bit about memory feedback sounds interesting, though I can't exactly figure out what it means. I guess I might as well get to work on it.'_

An hour later, Naruto was surrounded by ten solid clones of himself. Slightly weirded out by fact he was being stared at by ten different copies of himself. Naruto told two of them to go away from the group and tell each other a joke. After complying with the orders, the clones dispelled and Naruto was hit with the memories of two separate clones, among which was a rather pathetic knock-knock joke.

'…"_Orange you glad I didn't say banana?" Really? What am I, 6 years old again? Well at least that shed some light on the whole "memory feedback" thing. Now what should I do?' _Naruto thought as he glanced down at the scroll at his feet… the Scroll of Seals… a scroll filled with who knew how many powerful jutsus…

Naruto face nearly split from the resulting grin.

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"Naruto!"

Turning around, Naruto looked at Iruka leaping through trees towards him. He'd just finished copying down the scroll and conducting a few more experiments with shadow clones. Turns out they only transferred memories, nothing physical like muscle soreness. "Hey Iruka-san! It took you long enough to get here. I thought it was gonna be Mizuki, but now I get to thank you for setting up this little test for me." The whole time Naruto was talking though, he never noticed that teacher's face was sporting an increasingly confused look as the man came to a stop in front of him.

'_What? Mizuki? Test? What exactly is going on here? At first I thought this was just another one of his pranks, except he didn't know exactly how serious what he'd done was. But now-'_

"Hey, is something wrong?" asked the blonde, who finally noticed the look on the man's face.

"Naruto, wha-"

That's when Iruka heard it. A whizzing sound... a fuuma shuriken! And it was heading right for Naruto! Iruka quickly leapt at Naruto and covered him, knowing he wouldn't be able move him out of the way quickly enough.

The sound of metal tearing through flesh. The spray of blood. The scream.

"What's this Iruka? Why would you sacrifice yourself to save a monster?" asked an amused voice from out of the darkness in the branches overhead.

"M-Mizuki!" gasped Iruka. He'd barely made it in time to stop the shuriken from hitting Naruto. The shuriken was embedded in his back but it didn't feel like it was a deep wound.

Mizuki stepped out of the shadows with another fuuma shuriken on his arm. Looking down at Naruto, the man growled out, "Hand over the scroll, Naruto."

"…" Naruto merely gaped at the man as he couldn't fully comprehend what was happening to him.

"Come on, Naruto, hand over the scroll and the test will be complete," Mizuki said with a sinister smile.

"Don't do it! He's lying!" said Iruka, who had finally managed to stand back up having removed the shuriken from his back. Fortunately, it hadn't hit anything important and was merely _excruciatingly _painful.

"Your one to talk," replied Mizuki with a gleam in his eye. "You wanna know who the real liar is here Naruto? You've been lied to your face for years now? It's the reason people hate you so much."

'_He knows? Is he lying again._'

"Mizuki, no!"

"You see, the Yondaime didn't really kill the Kyuubi 12 years ago. He actually sealed the demon into a child," Mizuki was now sneering at the boy.

'_No,' _thought Naruto, _'it can't be…'_

"STOP! IT'S FORBI-" Iruka tried to stop the crazed chunin before it was too late.

"AND THAT CHILD WAS YOU NARUTO! YOU ARE THE NINE TAILED FOX! AND NOW I'LL FINISH WHAT THE FOURTH STARTED!" finished Mizuki with a scream as he threw his final fuuma shuriken at the blonde.

'…_So it's true… I really am a monster after all…'_ It all made sense now. The stares, the mobs, his birthday's, his healing, even the whisker marks. Like the pieces of a puzzle, the information formed one coherent fact that could not be denied. Naruto contained the strongest tailed beast in existence. It could not be denied. Noticing the weapon was nearly upon him, Naruto merely closed his eyes and waited for the shuriken to end all his pain.

Perhaps in the process it would rid the world the monster within him.

For the second time that night, the sound of metal impacting flesh reverberated through the forest. But when the pain didn't come like Naruto expected, he forced his eyes open.

They widened.

Standing before him was Iruka, having again taken the hit for him. But this time he wasn't nearly as lucky. One of the four blades ran clean through the man's chest.

"N-N-ar-u-to," gasped Iruka in a strained voice "run…" Then Iruka collapsed to the ground.

The boy's pupils became slits as his eyes flashed red.

Chakra exploded out of the boy, and it was accompanied by a horrible blood lust that hadn't been felt for 12 years. Mizuki froze, the killing intent left him breathless and immobilized, his own death flashing before his eyes. The swirling, red chakra briefly formed the head of a fox before it dissipated, revealing Naruto hunched over the fallen form of his teacher. His nails had lengthened to resemble claws, his canines had grown, and his whisker marks became more pronounced. He lifted his head to glare at a terrified Mizuki.

Said man tried to run away only to find that his lower legs had been removed as Naruto held him up with one hand 30 feet above the ground.

Naruto released his grip. Mizuki screamed.

The impact with the ground cracked several of his ribs on the left side of his body along with shattering his left arm. The unfortunate man then found himself being picked up again by the demonic looking child before he was slammed bodily into the tree trunk behind him. He tried to scream again, only to feel his first fuuma shuriken being run through his right lung. The man looked down for a split second before looking back up to find Naruto's fist rocketing directly towards his face. An instant later, Mizuki's head exploded in a shower of gore.

The whole battle lasted less than 10 seconds.

As the Kyuubi's chakra left him and his features reverted back to normal, Naruto ran back towards the man who had sacrificed his life in order to save him.

Him. A monster.

"Naruto-kun, come here." Iruka was struggling to keep his voice even. The man knew he was going to die shortly. Nothing could change that now. The only thing that remained for him to do was to help the poor child one last time.

As Naruto neared, he began to cry as he said, "I-I-I am s-so sorry th-that you did thi-this for a de-"

"No," said Iruka softly but forcefully. "You're not a monster. I did this because-" he gasped in pain. He was running out of time. "Because you remind me of me when I was younger. The pranks, the attitude, the determination…" He embraced Naruto. "I'm so proud of you. Y-you have been through so much, yet you still smiled through it a-all. D-don't ever lose th-that s-smile, N-N-Naruto-kun." He paused a moment, closing his eyes, before re-opening them and saying, "Close your eyes."

Naruto closed his eyes, tears streaming down his face, his body being racked by his sobs. Then he felt pressure on his forehead, causing him to stiffen.

"Y-you can o-open them now."

Blue eyes met dark ones. Naruto felt the headband around his forehead with his hand. This was all to much for Naruto

"Congratutlations."

The youth buried his head into the man's chest as the tears flowed without restraint now. A bittersweet smile adorned Iruka's face as his eyes began to lose their glow.

Using the last of his ebbing strength, Iruka steeled himself in order to deliver one final message to his pride and joy. "Naruto. Know that no matter what, I will always love you; I will always be there for you. I know that you have the potential to become even greater than the Fourth. Find people who see you for you and protect them with all your strength. Don't let this change who you truly are on the inside." Though his voice never faltered, it was still fading fast. Iruka took one last, pained breathe.

"G-goodb-bye, Naruto-kun…" he said as his eyes lost all their light.

Umino Iruka had passed away.

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**EDIT: Let it be known that I did smite an error from this chapter in the name of "exhaustion." Were it not for his keen and discerning eye, the abomination unto proper grammatical etiquette might have been allowed to live for all eternity. THREE CHEERS FOR EXHAUSTION!**

**I'm pretty sure that also added some stuff too. But that was not in exhaustion's name… though I can't help but feel that it should have been.**

**Peace!**


	2. Chapter 2

**AN: Second chapter here.**

**First I'd like to say that the first chapter was kind of disappointing in retrospect. I think it's the perfectionist in me, but I know that I could have so much better. I mostly viewed it as an experiment on what worked and what didn't and also as a way to test the waters when it came to hits, reviews, faves, etc. But this left me blind to one little thing - overall quality. The beginning helps set the tone of a story; it's the foundation upon which the story rests in my opinion. Starting of sucking (that's what she said) just makes it harder in the long run. I wrote the entire thing in a single night, along with planning major plot points throughout the story. So it kind of feels rushed to me. So from now on: longer chapters with more details and minor events that will help flesh out the characters and make their development more meaningful.**

**It is for the aforementioned reasons that I have gone back and edited Chapter 1. Nothing major, just adding more about Naruto and Sasuke, a few extra words for Iruka, and a few minor details about Naruto's training. Added about 800 words total.**

**About Naruto, he's not going to be completely shattered from Iruka's death, but it will definitely have an effect on him. He's still going to have a positive outlook on life and will continue on brightening others' days with his attitude and antics. But the death of one of the few people who saw him as Naruto and not Kyuubi will somewhat temper these feelings. A few flashbacks will elaborate on just how much Iruka meant to Naruto in my story. Strength wise, he's a bit below Sasuke's level as of the end of chapter one (which is the same as canon Sasuke).**

**Reviews:**

**911negotiation: Thanks for the honesty, as I really do appreciate it. After pointing that out, I realized that it was a bit childish and if I was going to put that in there at all, the putting it at the end would have sufficed.**

**The Elemental Dragon Emperor: Iruka may be dead, but he still has a part to play in this story. Just wait and see.**

**UzumakiCest: Thx for all the advice. I've outlined my plan for increasing word count above. I'm pretty sure the pace I'm going to set for the romance will strike that delicate balance, so they're not going to be getting into each other's pants by Chapter 4 (I hate stories where the couple automatically loves each other) but they'll have made meaningful eye contact prior to Chapter 400 (not that I plan on actually writing a story that long… for free at least).**

**exhaustion: Thanks for pointing out that error. I shall erase it from existence in your name. It won't know its fate until it's too late (check out my mad rhyming skillz).**

**LolyGothica: You're gonna have to try a lot harder if you want to hurt me… just kidding. You honor me with your honesty (kinda had a nice rhythm there). I was a little concerned with the lack of any real interaction between Naruto and Sasuke in a story that revolves around the two, so I went back and added some.**

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**Disclaimer: Own Naruto, I do not. That is the way of things… the way of the Force. And on that note, I don't own Star Wars either.**

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Naruto stood in the Hokage's office directly in front of the Sarutobi Hiruzen, the Third Hokage, and the Kami no Shinobi himself. The old man was dressed in his usual Hokage robes and was leaning forward having just finished listening to Naruto's recounting of the nights events. He leaned back in his chair having and took a deep breathe from his pipe. _'I'm getting to old for this,'_ Sarutobi thought ruefully. What had started out as another normal day turned into a giant clusterfuck. A 12 year old kid, who had failed his academy graduation test, had managed to steal a scroll that was a treasure trove of powerful, forbidden jutsus. And that wasn't even the worst part. If it was just a stolen scroll and a dead traitor then the situation would have been manageable. However, Naruto had drawn on the Kyuubi's chakra, enough so that a number of civilians had felt it. It wouldn't take long before word spread through the village, which would mean Naruto would soon be facing the mob.

But the scariest part was that a kid who wasn't even a genin, managed to completely annihilate a half-way decent chunin with a small portion of the fox's chakra. And it took the boy less than a minute to do so, judging by how long the Sandaime had felt the malicious chakra. If Naruto had done this with only a year's worth of training on his own, what would the results have been if he was as strong as his father Minato Namikaze, the Yondaime Hokage, was at his age?

As per usual, the council was in an uproar whenever it came to matters dealing with the blonde. Most of the civilian council members were demanding such things as life imprisonment or his head on a silver platter. The usual bullshit, in other words. The shinobi council had managed to keep its collective head secured to its shoulders, though they were understandably very concerned over the events. Danzo was assuredly scheming as to how he could use this to further his own plans… whatever those where. He was calling for the boy to be forged into an emotionless weapon, in order to bolster Konoha's strength and raise her standing among the hidden villages. Though Hiruzen knew Danzo had the village's best interests at heart, his methods were simply to extreme. He knew root hadn't been disbanded as the elder had claimed, but there was simply no proof that the Sandaime could find. The other two elders, Kohara Utatane and Homura Mitokado, were in agreement with Danzo on the matter.

The Sandaime had considered all possible courses of actions, and had come to the conclusion that it would be best if Naruto became a genin. This was not only to honor Iruka's dying wish, but also to protect him from the council's scheming. As a ninja, he would fall under the Hokage's jurisdiction (and to a lesser extent, the shinobi council's). It was also Minato's wish that his son become a ninja in order to protect himself and be able to bear his burden. And finally, it was the inevitable fate of every jinchuriki to become a ninja for their village, if not to become a weapon, then at least to help prevent the accidental release of the tailed beast on the populace.

Sighing to himself, Sarutobi looked at the report from Ibiki Morino's interview of the Uzumaki. Everything he had said to the Hokage was in perfect agreement with the report, not that he doubted the boy had lied to either of them. He would have preferred to have the interview done by Anko Mitarashi as she was the one who helped the boy begin training on his own. The young tokubetsu jonin was out on a mission however and wouldn't return for at least several more hours.

"Jiji-san?"

Sarutobi looked up at Naruto. The boy was looking at him with his cerulean eyes that seemed almost devoid of anything at all. Almost. The Sandaime was very good at getting a read on people, and he could tell the boy's eyes held one thing and one thing only, if you looked close enough.

Pain.

And it was not just the pain of losing one of the few people close to him. It was also the pain of years of rejection and abuse ay the hand s of the villagers. The pain of being alone all of his life. The pain that came with being a sacrifice for the well-being of Konoha.

"Yes, Naruto-kun?" Sarutobi put on a warm smile for the boy's sake.

"When I fought and… killed Mizuki… There was this voice in my head… like a whisper and yet it was all I could hear. It told me to… to kill Mizuki. It told me to make him suffer for what he had… done. And I listened to that voice… I gave into it." Naruto's eyes were beginning to tear up. "Jiji-san, I slaughtered the man without a second thought. A-and I enjoyed every second of it…" Sarutobi stiffened for a second and looked at the boy sternly before his look softened as the boy burst into tears.

"I-it felt li-like someone else had t-taken over. It felt l-like my body w-was having the… time of its life while my mind could only… watch. I… _killed_ a human being today. Iruka-san would _hate_ me for what I've becoming a mon-"

"Naruto-kun," the Hokage interrupted with a soft but firm voice as a he walked over to the boy and drew him into a hug. "Iruka loved you, Naruto. He would never hate nor would he believe that you were a monster. You were just… emotionally vulnerable and the fox took that chance to try to exert some influence over you. What happened was not your fault. You're not a monster. You merely contain one." The Hokage continued to hold the boy as he sobbed into his robes.

"Bu-"

"If I seal a kunai into a scroll, does that scroll become the kunai?" asked Sarutobi.

"…No," replied Naruto after a brief period of silence.

"Such is the case with you and the Kyuubi, with you being the scroll and the Kyuubi being a kunai. One does not become the other, they remain two separate entities. Do you understand what I am saying?" He asked as he lifted Naruto's head so they could look each other in the eyes, the tears finally having abated.

"Yes, Jiji-san."

"Good. If you have anything else you want to talk about, I'm right here for you," Sarutobi said as he sat back down into his chair.

"There is one thing… can I still become a ninja?" Naruto asked as he looked up at the Sandaime with pleading, bloodshot eyes.

"Of course you can; and I know that if you work hard enough at it, you will become one of the greatest," answered Sarutobi with a loving smile.

"Thanks, and if it's all right with you, I'd like to… have some time to myself… " Naruto looked down at his feet as his eyes began to water up again.

"There are just a few things I need to tell you. First, since you're a ninja, genin team assignments will be in a week at the academy. Second, I'm afraid that since you're a ninja now, I have to cut you off from your monthly stipend as an orphan. But don't worry too much, because I'm going to make tonight's events a B-rank mission. Considering it was the Scroll of Seals that was at stake, you'll get the highest amount possible. So here's the 200,000 ryo due to you." At this point Naruto's mouth hit the floor, as he had never had anything close to that amount of money. While he was very stingy with his money, the monthly stipend he received wasn't a lot. Plus, with the shop owners overcharging him every chance they had, he never really had the chance to save up money. The best he could do was to survive on what little he had.

"And one last thing… Iruka's funeral will be held tomorrow afternoon," Sarutobi said gently.

The blonde stiffened before standing up and replying, "Then I will be there." Turning around the boy walked towards the door. Pausing a moment with his hand on the handle, Naruto looked over his shoulder said "Thanks, Jiji-san." And then he left.

Sighing, Hiruzen drew another breathe from his pipe as he looked at the portrait of Minato hanging on the wall of his office. _'I feel that I've failed you yet again, Minato. But perhaps your son will grow from this tragedy. Though I know not what may come of all this, I do know that he will make both you and I proud.'_

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

(The next day)

Naruto arrived at the funeral just as it had begun. When he arrived at his run-down apartment, he had immediately collapsed on his bed but did not fall asleep. He merely stared up at his ceiling as his mind churned with all the events of that night. He would often receive flashes of his battle with Mizuki… if you could call it that. Eventually, the boy had drifted off to sleep and hadn't awoken until about an hour two hours ago.

Looking around, Naruto noticed there were actually quite a few people there. Some of his fellow chunin, some staff from the academy, his students, and even the Hokage (Naruto guessed it was because Iruka had fallen in defense of the village). Sakura was there too, with tears in her eyes. But Naruto couldn't help but feel a little put off by them. She hardly knew the guy, so why the hell was she crying? Iruka was merely her sensei, while he was like Naruto's older brother. And it wasn't just her too, some of the other students were crying. But they weren't crying over the fact that such an honorable man was dead, or that the world was a little less bright without him. No, they cried because they couldn't believe that someone _they_ knew died, that this was happening to _them_. He cried not only because he lost one of the few people who were truly precious to him, but also because he knew just how special a person Iruka truly was.

For whatever reason, he couldn't help but notice that Sasuke wasn't there.

There was a brief eulogy in which the speaker told of Iruka's life. Of how his parents were lost during the nine-tails attack (Naruto received some ugly glares from several of the adults at that point). How he became a ninja and was promoted to chunin. How his reason for becoming a teacher was to instill the Will of Fire into the next generation.

The whole time Naruto slipped deeper into the depression that recently came over him. Periodically throughout the ceremony, the blonde would catch bits and pieces of conversations pertaining to him… none of them held him in a positive light.

"What's _it_ doing here?"

"Probably came to gloat considering he killed both of Iruka's parents."

"The demon became a ninja? Kami help us all!"

"Do you think he had something to do with his death?"

"I heard that that _it _was involved… somehow."

"The demon probably killed him."

At this point, Naruto decided it was time to leave. He'd already paid his respects to Iruka and put some flowers next to his funeral pyre. The boy didn't think he could take much more of this and continue to hold himself together. He clenched his fists. _'Why is it they can't see past the fox? Iruka did and he had his parents die at the Kyuubi's hands… or claws, I guess._ _Why can't they ju-"_

"Hey, gaki!"

Naruto stopped. That voice sounded familiar, but for the life of him he couldn't place. Someone walked up behind him he caught the smell of dango, sake, blood (disturbingly enough), and…

Snakes.

Naruto turned around to meet the woman who'd helped him out about a year ago. She was wearing the same clothes (well… the same lack of clothes, in this case) as the last time he saw her. A mesh body suit that went from her neck to her knees, a dark blue belt, a dark orange skirt, and a tan trench coat. Her purple hair was in a spiky ponytail. She was looking at him with a smile that was both sadistic and yet seductive. '_A rather… interesting combo,' _Naruto mused.

"Long time no see," she said.

"Yeah…" Naruto mumbled. He really wasn't in the mood right now.

"That's all you got say to the sexy lady who helped you out a while back. And I thought I'd made a better impression on you, gaki," she teased him.

"Look, I am grateful for what you did; but right now, I just want to be left alone. Plus, I don't even know your name." It was ironic. Normally he'd kill for attention. Now, it seemed that he was getting too much for his own liking.

She didn't speak for a second after that, but when she did, it was a tad softer than before. "So you actually give a shit about him, eh? Well that's more than can be said about most of the students here. The name's Mitarashi Anko, by the way. How about you, gaki?"

"Uzumaki Naruto," he replied.

"Good to know, gaki," she said with a smile.

Naruto looked up at her with a raised eyebrow. "I'm not 'gaki, 'I'm Naruto." _'Or 'demon' if you are anybody else.'_ Though he wanted to just leave before, something about Anko just compelled him to stay. Perhaps it was because she had been nice to him before? Or was it because he wanted any form of companionship right now? Maybe he just liked her personality? Maybe it was for all of those reasons. Then Naruto noticed that some more people were glaring in his direction, but the stares weren't directed at him alone this time.

They were also glaring at her.

'_Maybe she's an outcast like me?'_ Naruto thought. _'I wonder why?'_

"I know," Anko replied cheerfully. Naruto smiled a little at that. "Come on, gaki!" she said as she grabbed his arm and started dragging him. "You seem down so let's go treat me to some dango. You know, for old time's sake."

"Eh?" was all Naruto could say in reply.

A few minutes later, Naruto found himself seated at a table with Anko at a local restaurant bar. Said woman had bought several plates of dango and a few bottles of sake while making Naruto pick up the bill… again. The woman was apparently a regular here because the moment she had walked in the bartender was serving her some sake. Naruto turned to Anko and asked her a question that had been bothering him since he met her today.

"So how did you know Iruka?"

Anko pondered over whether she should tell the blonde or not as she continued to devour sticks of dango at a ferocious rate. _'On one hand, I don't normally tell anyone bought my personal life. But on the other, I know this kid had been through hell living in this village, he was obviously close to Iruka, and he's pretty depressed right now. Oh, why the hell not.'_

"Well, gaki, Iruka and I used to go out for a few months. Things were good and all but we both decided to end it as we could see there was no point in prolonging the relationship and just decided to remain friends." When Anko finished, she decided a good teasing was what the boy needed to help get his mind of the pain. So she waited until he began to take a sip of his water before she said with a devious grin, "But I've got to tell you kid, that man was amazing in bed."

Naruto's eyes widened as the water he was drinking tried to go to his lungs instead of his stomach. Coughing for a bit, he couldn't help but feel slightly sickened over the fact that Iruka had… gotten it on at least once with the crazy snake lady. And all the while, the woman was just holding her sides and laughing at him. Needless to say, the two's antics drew quite a few curious stares before everyone went back to whatever it was they were doing.

"Thanks for that mental image," Naruto groused.

"Aw, what's the matter gaki? Don't like what you see?" Anko asked in a sultry voice. _'Really,' _she thought, _'this kid is too easy.'_

Naruto tried to hide the blush, so he stared at his feet and maintained his silence while the woman had a few laughs at his expense. _'It's funny,' _Naruto thought, _'One would think that this is the exact opposite of how you should treat someone who just came from a funeral. But oddly enough… it is actually making me feel a bit better.' _With that thought, the boy decided that if he was going to get teased like this, then he wasn't going to take it lying down. "I can see why he decided to call it off," Naruto quipped with a small grin, "you're obviously more trouble than you're worth."

"More like too hot to handle," she countered. _ 'So the gaki does know how to speak, eh? Well at least my efforts aren't being wasted.'_ Finally finished with her dango and sake, Anko decided that her job here was done. "Well it's been fun, gaki, but I just got back from a mission today and I am pretty tired. So thanks for the company, the sake, and the dango." Anko stood up and said, "See you around."

"Wait. Before you go, can I ask you two questions?" said Naruto.

"Well, that was one right there so I will let you ask your last one," replied Anko with a grin.

Naruto rolled his eyes before getting a serious look on his face and asking, "Why do you act like this even though one of your friends just died."

"Because I'm a shinobi. Our lives are constantly surrounded by death, whether it be the deaths of our enemies or our friends. If you go through life constantly mourning the deaths of your comrades, you'll never stop shedding tears. It's inevitable that someone you know is going to die in our line of work, and odds are that, one day, it will be someone who was particularly close to you. You have to be able to move on. If you don't, you will eventually snap and became an emotional wreck incapable of doing much of anything. I'm not saying to forget those who died; I'm saying that you should honor their memories by living life to the fullest." Having finished her speech, Anko waited for the boy to respond.

"That was… surprisingly deep," Naruto commented.

Smiling lightly, the woman replied with, "Well, when you are as awesome I am, stuff like that is just bound to happen."

Naruto gave laughed once before looking directly into her eyes and asking, "Will you train me?"

'_Well that was rather unexpected,'_ the snake mistress thought. "And just why should I do that, gaki?"

"Besides just treating you to dango and sake _again_, I can see that you are really strong. Iruka was one of the few people that saw me for me. With him… gone… I have even fewer people who are left that truly care for me. I'm not going to lose another because I was too dumb and too weak to protect them." Naruto's eyes shone with determination. "You said I should live life to the fullest and honor Iruka's wishes? Well that is how I am going to do it. I will become strong enough to ensure that the people I care about need never worry about being in danger. If you teach me, I will be able to do just that. So please, will you train me?"

"Damn, gaki. When you put it that way, I guess I don't really have a choice, do I?" Anko chuckled before she continued on. "But before I say yes I need to know that you are committed. The training I will put you through will be just as rough, if not rougher, than real combat. It'll be tough as hell and I won't teach you if you are just going to pussy out when the going gets tough. You still think you can handle it?"

"I'll do whatever it takes," the boy said.

"Then show up here at 7:00 tomorrow and the tor- I mean the training will commence," said Anko before she vanished in a swirl of leaves.

'_I still can't help but wonder what I've gotten myself into,'_ Naruto thought grimly.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Naruto showed arrived at the bar promptly at 7:00, but Anko was nowhere to be found. Looking around to see if he could catch sight of her, his ear's pricked up at hearing a the sound of an incoming projectile an instant before his cheek was sliced by a kunai. Anko suddenly appeared behind him and snatched the kunai out of the air just as it went past his head. Putting one arm around his neck, Anko leaned over his shoulder so he could watch as she liked the kunai clean.

"Mmmmm… I just love the taste of fresh blood in the morning, and yours is especially good." Naruto gaped at her with eyes the size of dinner plates. "I think that we should start every morning like this," Anko whispered with a sadistic grin on her face.

"Kami help me…" Naruto muttered weakly. Anko let out a long, sadistic laugh.

"KAMI CAN'T HELP YOU NOW!" she screamed as they both disappeared in a swirl of leaves. A second later, they reappeared in the middle of a forest. The snake mistress let the boy drop to the ground, as the Shunshin had left him a tad dizzy. "All right, gaki, first things first. You and I are going to have a little no-holds- barred one-on-one spar. I'll beat your ass into the ground as a little evaluation of your skills. So come at me with the intent to kill if you don't want to end up dead." Leaping back a few feet, the woman just stood there as Naruto picked himself off the ground.

"You're going down, crazy snake lady!" _'I'm so screwed! There's no possible way for me to win! She's faster, stronger, and more experienced than me. The only way I will even be able to get a strike in is if she underestimates me, I somehow put her in a situational disadvantage, and I use my ace: an army of Kage Bunshins.'_ Naruto dusted himself off and eyed his opponent warily. He figured he might as well just charge her in order to gauge exactly how she planned to destroy him.

Running in, Naruto drew his fist back as if he was about to punch before dropping to the ground in an attempt to take out her legs. Anko merely lifted up her leg and slammed it down on his chest. She was about to berate him on his poor attack plan, when suddenly "Naruto" burst into smoke, revealing a log with an explosive note attached to it. Her eyes widened.

BOOM!

'_There's no way that got her. So she's probably taking this chance to either sneak up behind me or wait and see if I show myself. I don't want to show her my ace yet, so I'll walk out there like an idiot and pretend I got her.'_ Naruto burst out of the bush he was hiding in and said, "That actually worked?"

There was a breathe of movement behind him. "Of course not, gaki; I mean, who do take me for?"

Before she had even spoken, a kunai slipped out of Naruto's sleeve into his right hand. The boy spun clockwise and attempted cut the woman, who deftly caught his arm with her right hand. A second kunai slipped into his left hand as he drove it under his captured right arm and attempted to stab her in the side. Anko was having none of that however, so she grabbed the back of his neck while turning away from the strike and maneuvering herself behind his back. Stretching out his right arm, she spun clockwise and used her momentum and leverage from the grip on his arm and neck to slam Naruto into the ground. "Not bad, ga-"

Anko's eyes widened as the boy vanished in a puff of smoke. _'What the hell?'_

Suddenly, from every direction, the sounds of Kage Bunshins being formed were heard. Four clones descended from above and dozens burst form out of the surrounding foliage. All charged in, intent upon landing a blow on the purple haired jonin.

'_Impossible!'_ Anko thought as she dispelled for clones above her with the toss of a few shuriken. _'No one can make this many shadow clones without dying of chakra exhaustion. And how does the gaki, even know a B-ranked kinjutsu.'_ Anko face broke out in a malicious grin. _'Oh now I'm definitely going to train him into the ground. From what little I've seen, the kid has got potential. Not to mention he's a chakra monster. His reserves must far surpass my own. This little spar has gone on long enough, though; it's gaki crushing time.'_ As the rushing clones finally reached her, Anko just vanished in a burst of speed. An instant later, the clearing was filled with sound of a couple dozen clones dispelling.

Naruto, who was hidden high in the trees above, watched with wide eyes as his clones were ruthlessly and efficiently dispatched in the blink of an eye. _'Her speed is unreal! But now I've lost track of he, something that doesn't bode well for me. I don't think she'll try coming from behind again after my little trick with the shadow clone. So that leaves… below me!'_ Naruto tried jumping to a nearby branch, but found himself suddenly being constricted by a bunch of snakes extending from the sleeves of Anko's trench coat. The snakes rotated him until he was upside down and right in front of Anko, who was on the underside of the branch Naruto had attempted to vacate.

"Now you weren't just going to leave me hanging here, were you?" Anko asked as she flashed him a sadistic grin. Naruto rolled his eyes at the joke. "Anyway, you pretty rough around the edges. But that's nothing that can't be fixed with good old blood, sweat, and tears. But mostly blood… lots and lots of blood," said the woman as her eyes had a faraway look to them.

'_Probably thinking of all the ways she can hurt me,'_ Naruto that with a shudder.

"This little sparring session is over, because I just realized something far more entertaining we can do," said Anko as she hopped her way down tree branches as she made her way to the ground with the blonde in tow. The purplette had her snakes set the boy on the ground. Suddenly, Anko started to chuckle darkly, which quickly grew into a full blown maniacal laughter. The sky had darkened, a cold wind blew through the forest, and lightning flashed ominously in the background. Naruto began to stumble back in terror as she eyed him with a predatory glare.

"Run," she whispered.

Naruto could only stutter as he feared for his life.

"RUN, GAKI, RUN!" she cackled as she launched more snakes at him.

"AHHHHHHHHHHH!"

For the next several hours, the people in the village would catch what sounded like faint screams of pure terror.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Naruto collapsed on the ground after spending over the past several hours running from the many horrors that the forest had seemed to send after him.

And that wasn't even including Anko and her damned snakes.

'_I don't have time to be depressed or anything like that, I'm too busy trying to survive!'_ thought Naruto as he heard something towards him. _'Oh Kami, just kill me now.'_

"Got to say," said the snake mistress, "I am fairly impressed. I do not think I have ever seen someone with that much stamina before. Anybody else probably would have dropped dead from exhaustion halfway through. You, on the other hand, are only mostly dead from exhaustion." That got a pained groan out of Naruto. "You know? I had my doubts about this at first. But after how much fun I had today, you couldn't quit now even if you wanted to, gaki." Naruto was slightly unnerved that Anko was looking at him like a snake eying its next meal.

"So here's the deal: there's still a few hours of daylight left, so we are going to get you some new threads. Preferably, something that doesn't scream 'super gaki.' We will stock you up on tools, weapons, and what have you while we are out and about, too. Second, you are going to go to the library tomorrow and pick out a few scrolls and books for whatever you can find about shinobi related skills. And don't give me that look about how you hate reading, you'll read and you'll like it." Anko finished sternly.

"All right, gaki, we are done for tonight. Go on home," the woman was turning around to leave when Naruto called out to her.

"Wait! Before you go, there is something I need to ask you about. It's about… the fox." Anko's ears perked up at this. "The fox has… talked to me recently." Anko's eyes widened a bit. "Hokage-jiji already knows about it, but I was wondering about something. Do you think that I should… try to… communicate with it, I guess?" Naruto knew that Anko wasn't aware of everything that happened on that fateful night, and he felt that it should stay that way for the moment. He was definitely going to tell her later, but right now wasn't the right time.

'_A normal person would say no… but since when has that label applied to me? But when you think about it, this isn't as bad an idea as it initially appears to be. Granted, it still can be a pretty risky idea, but nothing ventured, nothing gained, right? Though I'm not quite sure how the kid could stand to benefit from this. But the risk of fox breaking out is pretty small, in my opinion. The Fourth was a true master when it came to seals, and when he performed one that resulted in his death, it has got to be incredibly strong. It has to be for it to have held the fox at bay for as long as it has. Plus, the kid is incredibly strong willed, anyone could tell that from glance. Everyone's got to face their inner demons at one point, something I attest to, unfortunately. Naruto would just be doing it in a more literal sense._

"Ultimately, it is up to you and you alone. But I think you are going to have to do it eventually, so why not get it out of the way before something bad happens. But know this Naruto, the fox will probably offer you many things: power, revenge, whatever. Don't except those offers, the beast will devour you. Trust me, kid, when someone offers you that kind of power, it's NEVER worth it." Anko's left hand went to her neck without her even noticing at this.

Naruto sat there contemplatively for a minute or so, pondering his sensei's words. "Thanks, Anko, and not just for that; thanks for everything."

Said woman smirked before suddenly appearing behind him and drawing him into a hug and rubbing her rather large assets against his back "Oh, gaki, is that all I am to you? Just, 'Anko?' Well I won't stand for this! From now on, it's 'Anko-chan,' got it?"

Naruto was blushing furiously as he attempted to properly speak. "O-of C-c-course, Anko-chan," the boy stammered

"Good!" the woman said cheerfully. "See you tomorrow, gaki." She said in a sing-song voice before she vanished in a swirl of leaves.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Naruto arrived home that night, not quite believing what he was about to do. No matter how utterly terrifying it might be, he knew had to talk to the tailed beast sealed within him. Best case scenario, the fox was actually misunderstood and would give him all of its power with no strings attached. Worst case scenario…

He didn't want to think too much about that.

Sitting on his bed in a meditative position, Naruto began to focus on the seal on his stomach. Reaching out and exploring it with his own chakra, Naruto began to search out for wherever the fox's chakra came from. After a few minutes, Naruto began to feel a tugging sensation in his mind. Submitting himself to it, Naruto felt himself slowly losing consciousness.

When he next opened his eyes, Naruto found himself sitting in the same position, only this time he was in what appeared to be a… sewer. The walls were dark and with cracks running all along them. Above him there only appeared to be an endless black abyss. There seemed to be a red light that dimly illuminated his surroundings, but from where it came from the boy had no clue. Then, Naruto felt the presence of something behind him. Turning around, the boy gazed at what looked like iron bars that stretched upward as far as the eye could see. Affixed to one of the bars in front of him was a piece of paper with the kanji for "seal" on it.

"**So my jailor has come to meet me at long last…"**

Naruto stiffened. The loud, booming voice had come from the darkness behind the bars. Suddenly a pair of huge, glowing red eyes appeared, glaring intensely at him.

"Kyuubi," Naruto said in an even voice which betrayed nothing.

"**Boy,"** came the reply. For a minute, neither talked as they opted to stare at each other. Deciding to break the silence, the fox said in a rather menacing voice, **"Come here."**

"Why should I trust you," the blonde replied.

"**Why shouldn't you?"**

Naruto sweatdropped. "That's not a very good reason. You're a giant fox that could devour me with one bite, causes natural disasters with the mere swing of its tails, and has a seemingly infinite amount of chakra. Oh, and you're really violent. Surely you can see why I hesitate."

"**I don't believe that you quite heard me, boy. COME. HERE."** The last words carried such an incredible weight of authority and power that Naruto almost complied, but he managed to catch himself in time.

Naruto stared at the fox, his expression calm yet confident. "The way I see it, I am the one holding all the cards at the moment. Why would I risk losing such an advantage to something far stronger me?"

"**So it seems you are not quite the idiot I had taken you to be. Tell me though, just how long do you think this situation will last? You claim to be the one with all the power right now, but we both know you are WEAK. It won't be long before you are in over your head, with me as your only chance for survival. Then you come crawling back to me, begging for my chakra. Do not think for a moment that YOU have either the authority or the means with which to order ME around. You are in the presence of one infinitely your greater. You exist because I allow it, and you will end because I demand it."**

'_I'm not going to lie to myself,' _the boy thought, _'that speech was more than a little intimidating.'_ It had, in fact, sent shivers down his spine. "Look, I didn't come here to make enemies. I came to see if there was some deal that we could work out that would be mutually beneficial."

"**What do you have that I could possibly desire. I have already witnessed every day of your life, and I have access to all of your memories. I will break free eventually, for NO seal can hold my power indefinitely. So tell me, child, what could you possibly have to offer?"**

"…I didn't realize that you liked living in a sewer so much?" Naruto said with a smirk. He figured that since this was his mind, he should be able to change it to whatever he wanted. Naruto didn't know the fox that well, but Kyuubi surely felt the current conditions were an insult to his pride. The boy had always been a good judge of character and of people's intentions. Helped avoid t

"…"

"…"

"…**Very well, mortal. In exchange for a change in scenery, I will act with more… civility. Impress me enough, and I might just give you a few extra perks as well."**

"That sounds reasonable enough; it was a pleasure doing business with you, Kyuubi. I can only hope that we continue this beautiful… tolerance of ours." Naruto turned around and started walking away. "Later." And with that, Naruto disappeared from his mindscape.

'_**It seems that some of my fears about my container have been relieved. Though he may prove problematic down the road, what's the fun in not having a challenge?' **_The fox chuckled for a moment._** 'Soon enough, though, I will break free from this seal and raze this village to the ground in retribution for sealing me not once, not even twice, but THREE times. I may be an immortal mass of chakra and hatred, but even MY patience has its limits. Perhaps I can convince the child to do some of the work for me. Wouldn't that be the greatest irony of all: the son of this village's greatest hero becoming the ultimate tool of its destruction?'**_ The Kyuubi looked around for a brief second as its surroundings changed from a dark sewer to a replica of Konoha, but there were changes. Many of the buildings were run down, the sky was dark and cloudy, and, of course, there were no people. Noticing the difference but not caring in the slightest, the fox grinned wickedly as it stood up to its full height and began what would be the first of many practice sections of destroying the village through the most violent means possible. As it began charging and then condensing an enormous amount of chakra in front of it mouth, the Kyuubi could not help but think, _**'Oh I could get used to this.'**_

**BOOM!**

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

**Phew. Another chapter completed. With that out of the way, I'm going to be gone for about a week and a half, so no updates during that time. I'm not going to lie; it took a lot of will power to not just end it when Naruto and Anko were done talking at the bar. But I made a promise that chapters would be longer, and I want to be a man of my word.**

**Who caught the Mass Effect reference?**

**Anko is such a fun character to write. She has the kind of personality that I look for in a girlfriend. A twisted sense of humor is always a plus for me. I like them with a bit of confidence and toughness. Guess that's why I don't like Hinata and Naruto as pairing. Or perhaps it could be because that's what every non-Yaoi pairing is on this site. In case you didn't realize, it's both for me.**

**The negative effects of training with hundreds of shadow clones will definitely show up within the next two chapters. He's only just started training with them so the effects won't manifest yet. Also, expect to see more of Sasuke from now on, including things from her point of view. Can't wait to get their relationship on the road. There will also be some elaboration on Anko's effects on Naruto, the state his mind and his emotions are in, and some stuff about his past.**

**Tell me what you think. I'm serious guys, the more reviews I get, the more determined I am to crank out the next chapter. I may have fun writing, but the actual typing part bores the hell out of me. So I need you guys to help me both stroke my ego so that my head might be among the clouds and then pop it like a balloon so that I may came crashing back down to earth.**


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